EP2099364B1 - Detektion der ablösung eines immobilisierten kontrastmittels bei medizinischen bildgebungsanwendungen - Google Patents

Detektion der ablösung eines immobilisierten kontrastmittels bei medizinischen bildgebungsanwendungen Download PDF

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EP2099364B1
EP2099364B1 EP07866306.9A EP07866306A EP2099364B1 EP 2099364 B1 EP2099364 B1 EP 2099364B1 EP 07866306 A EP07866306 A EP 07866306A EP 2099364 B1 EP2099364 B1 EP 2099364B1
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Prior art keywords
contrast agent
value
filtered
image
images
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French (fr)
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EP2099364A1 (de
EP2099364B8 (de
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Peter Frinking
Tristan Messager
Marcel Arditi
Nicolas Rognin
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Bracco Suisse SA
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Bracco Suisse SA
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52023—Details of receivers
    • G01S7/52036—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation
    • G01S7/52038—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation involving non-linear properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target
    • G01S7/52041—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation involving non-linear properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target detecting modification of a contrast enhancer, e.g. detecting the destruction of a contrast agent by an acoustic wave, e.g. loss of correlation
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/48—Diagnostic techniques
    • A61B8/481—Diagnostic techniques involving the use of contrast agent, e.g. microbubbles introduced into the bloodstream
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P43/00—Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52023—Details of receivers
    • G01S7/52025—Details of receivers for pulse systems
    • G01S7/52026—Extracting wanted echo signals
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52023—Details of receivers
    • G01S7/52036—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation
    • G01S7/52038—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation involving non-linear properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52053—Display arrangements
    • G01S7/52057—Cathode ray tube displays
    • G01S7/52071—Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52053—Display arrangements
    • G01S7/52057—Cathode ray tube displays
    • G01S7/52074—Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the medical imaging field. More specifically, the present invention relates to contrast agent imaging applications.
  • Medical imaging is a well-established technique (in the field of equipments for medical applications), which allows analyzing a body-part of a patient in a substantially non-invasive manner.
  • a specific medical imaging technique is based on the recording of an echo signal that results from the application of ultrasound waves to the body-part.
  • This technique can advantageously be implemented with the administration of an ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) to the patient (for example, consisting of a suspension of phospholipid-stabilized gas-filled microbubbles); as the contrast agent acts as an efficient ultrasound reflector, it enhances the visualization of the vascular system within the body-part where it is present.
  • UCA ultrasound contrast agent
  • Target-specific contrast agents adapted to reach a specific (biological) target and then remain immobilized thereon, have also been proposed in the last years for facilitating the detection of specific pathologies.
  • a target-specific contrast agent is capable of attaching to the corresponding target - such as particular tissues or receptors - by means of a specific interaction therewith; for example, the desired behavior can be achieved by incorporating a target-specific ligand in the formulation of the contrast agent (such as capable of interacting with inflammatory or tumoral tissues).
  • the target-specific contrast agent Once the target-specific contrast agent has reached the target remaining immobilized thereon, its detection may allow distinguishing pathologies that would be otherwise difficult to identify.
  • US-B-6740039 discloses incorporating a therapeutic agent into the microbubbles of a contrast agent and destroying them by applying ultrasound energy; in this context, successive ultrasound images are subtracted to detect microbubble destruction.
  • a problem associated with the target-specific contrast agents is that only a relatively small fraction of the total amount of the administered target-specific contrast agent actually reaches the target and remains immobilized thereon. Most of the target-specific contrast agent continues to circulate, for example, until it is filtered out by the lungs and/or in the liver of the patient. The echo signal that is measured is then the result of different contributions, which are due to the immobilized (target-specific) contrast agent, to the circulating or free-flowing (target-specific) contrast agent and to surrounding tissue.
  • a solution for facilitating the detection of the immobilized contrast agent is disclosed in the International patent application WO 2007/054544 A1 filed on 9 November 2006 (the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference).
  • the proposed solution exploits the difference in flow dynamics between the immobilized contrast agent and the circulating contrast agent.
  • the echo signal is filtered so as to remove (possibly high-) intensity peaks of short durations caused by the (fast) passage of the circulating contrast agent; the durations of the intensity peaks are shorter than a predefined filtering window.
  • the desired result is achieved by applying a modified version of the Minimum Intensity Projection ( Min_IP ) algorithm. This allows detecting the immobilized contrast agent with an acceptable degree of accuracy at an early instant after the administration of the target-specific contrast agent to the patient (for example, in the first 2-5 minutes).
  • the detection of the target-specific contrast agent that is actually immobilized i.e., it remains attached to the desired target substantially permanently
  • the detection of the target-specific contrast agent that is actually immobilized is hindered by several disturbing factors.
  • a problem may be caused by a non-specific interaction of the target-specific contrast agent with a passive target.
  • the target-specific contrast agent detaches after having been immobilized temporarily, because the non-specific interaction is weaker than the specific-interaction with the intended (active) target; typically, this happens when the passive target includes a receptor similar to the one of the active target, or when the target-specific contrast agent has lost its specificity in the patient (such as under the action of his/her immune system).
  • this temporarily-immobilized contrast agent - while it is attached to the passive target - is completely indistinguishable from the permanently-immobilized contrast agent. Therefore, if the body-part is analyzed at an early instant after the administration of the target-specific contrast agent to the patient, any temporarily-immobilized contrast agent leads to an incorrect identification and localization of the desired target (false positives).
  • the above-described solution is unable to discriminate the permanently-immobilized contrast agent from the circulating contrast agent that moves very slowly (such as at the micro-vascular level).
  • the slowly-moving contrast agent remains around the same locations for a period of time longer than the filtering window of the modified Min _ IP algorithm, it appears as immobilized at these instants; indeed, the intensity peaks of the echo signal caused by this apparently-immobilized contrast agent are too broad to be removed by the modified Min_IP algorithm.
  • the present invention is based on the idea of detecting the contrast agent that detaches after being substantially stationary (for example, because it is temporality-immobilized or apparently-immobilized).
  • the present invention provides a solution as set out in the independent claims.
  • Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.
  • an aspect of the invention proposes a method for imaging a body-part that is perfused with a contrast agent.
  • the method includes the step of providing a sequence of input images (for example, acquired with an ultrasound scanner); the input images offer a digital representation over time of the body-part.
  • Each input image includes a plurality of input values (i.e., pixel or voxel values); each input value is indicative of a response to an interrogation signal (such as an echo signal for ultrasound waves) of a corresponding location of the body-part, which possibly includes the contrast agent.
  • the method further includes the step of generating at least one filtered image from a plurality of selected ones of the input images (such as all of them or a subset thereof).
  • Each filtered image includes a filtered value for each of a plurality of selected ones of the locations (for example, in a region of interest, or ROI).
  • the filtered value is obtained by reducing, where present, a contribution of the contrast agent that is substantially stationary at the selected location along the selected input images for a period of time equal to or shorter than a first non-zero threshold.
  • this operation of reducing the contribution of any circulating contrast agent may be omitted when this contribution is not included in the input images (e.g., because the contribution has been previously removed or because the input images were acquired after disappearance of the circulating contrast agent).
  • the filtered value is obtained by also reducing a contribution of the contrast agent that is substantially stationary at the selected location along the selected input images for a period of time equal to or longer than a second threshold higher than the first threshold.
  • the filtered value of each selected location is thus indicative of the contrast agent that leaves the selected location after being substantially stationary at the selected location for a period of time, which is comprised between the first threshold and the second threshold (e.g., because the contrast agent detaches from the location after having been immobilized thereon for a certain period).
  • a target-specific contrast agent is used.
  • the selected input images are pre-processed to reduce a contribution of the circulating contrast agent; each filtered value is then calculated by cumulating a variation value, which is indicative of the variation of a comparison value (based on a corresponding set of input values from a comparison set of the selected input images) with respect to a reference value (consisting of the preceding input value).
  • the same result may be achieved by combining the two operations in a single step - with each variation value that is now indicative of the variation of the comparison value with respect to a reference value, being based on the lowest response (i.e., the minimum) in a set of preceding input values.
  • a further sequence of filtered images is generated (with each filtered value that is obtained by cumulating the variation value with the preceding filtered value).
  • the proposed solution is particularly advantageous when each filtered image is displayed in substantial synchrony with an acquisition instant of a specific selected input image corresponding thereto (i.e., with a short delay but without waiting for the completion of the acquisition process), thus providing a real-time display of the filtered images.
  • the comparison set of selected input images consists of the specific selected input image only (with the comparison value that is set to the corresponding input value directly).
  • the comparison set of selected input images consists of the specific selected input image and one or more selected input images preceding the specific selected input image in the sequence.
  • the comparison value is set to the input value of the comparison set that is indicative of the highest response (i.e., the echo signal) at the selected location.
  • the variation value is set to the absolute value of the difference between the comparison value and the reference value.
  • the variation value is set to a delta value, which is indicative of the subtraction of the comparison value from the reference value at the selected location (when the response - i.e., the echo signal - decreases from the reference value to the comparison value), or to a null value otherwise.
  • the variation value is set to the reference value minus the comparison value (when the comparison value is lower than the reference value), or to zero otherwise.
  • a contribution of tissue in the selected input images has been substantially removed, or at least reduced (for example, by acquiring them with a contrast-specific imaging mode).
  • a way to further improve the solution is to subtract a background image (for example, taken before the arrival of the contrast agent in the body-part) from the selected input images.
  • the selected input images are spatially sub-sampled according to an estimated resolution thereof (for example, based on the size of speckle grains that typically occur in ultrasound imaging).
  • the selected input images may also be linearized (so as to make their input values substantially proportional to a concentration of the contrast agent at the corresponding locations).
  • the filtered images are overlaid onto the input images - for example, by overriding the representation of the permanently-immobilized contrast agent with the representation of the temporarily/apparently-immobilized contrast agent (preferably over a background representing the body-part under analysis).
  • Another aspect of the present invention proposes a computer program for performing the method.
  • a further aspect of the present invention proposes a corresponding system for implementing the method illustrated above.
  • the ultrasound scanner 100 includes a central unit 105 and a hand-held transmit-receive imaging probe 110 (for example, of the array type).
  • the imaging probe 110 transmits ultrasound waves consisting of a sequence of pulses (for example, having a center frequency between 1 and 50 MHz), and receives a (raw) radio-frequency (RF) echo signal resulting from the reflection of the ultrasound pulses; for this purpose, the imaging probe 110 is provided with a transmit/receive multiplexer, which allows using the imaging probe 110 in the above-mentioned pulse-echo mode.
  • the central unit 105 houses a motherboard 115, on which the electronic circuits controlling operation of the ultrasound scanner 100 (such as a microprocessor, a working memory and a hard-disk drive) are mounted. Moreover, one or more daughter boards (denoted as a whole with 120) are plugged on the motherboard 115; the daughter boards 120 provide the electronic circuits for driving the imaging probe 110 and for processing the received echo signal.
  • the ultrasound scanner 100 can also be equipped with a drive 125 for reading removable disks 130 (such as floppy-disks).
  • a monitor 135 displays images relating to the analysis in progress.
  • Operation of the ultrasound scanner 100 is controlled by means of a keyboard 140, which is connected to the central unit 105 in a conventional manner; preferably, the keyboard 140 is provided with a trackball 145 that is used to manipulate the position of a pointer (not shown in the figure) on a screen of the monitor 135.
  • a keyboard 140 which is connected to the central unit 105 in a conventional manner; preferably, the keyboard 140 is provided with a trackball 145 that is used to manipulate the position of a pointer (not shown in the figure) on a screen of the monitor 135.
  • the above-described ultrasound scanner 100 is used to analyze a body-part 155 of a patient 160.
  • a contrast agent (capable of enhancing ultrasound images) is administered to the patient.
  • the contrast agent can be administered orally (for example, for imaging the gastro-intestinal tract), via a nebulizer into the airways (for imaging the lungs), or by injection.
  • Administration by injection includes, for instance, intravenous, intraarterial, intralymphatic, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intradermal, intraperitoneal, interstitial, intrathecal or intratumoral administration.
  • the contrast agent is administered intravenously, either as a continuous infusion (typically by means of a pump) or as a bolus (typically by hand with a syringe).
  • the contrast agent circulates within the patient, so as to be received by the body-part 155; for example, the contrast agent can move along the gastrointestinal tract (in case of oral administration), or within the vascular system (in case of intravenous administration, wherein the body-part 155 is perfused with said contrast agent).
  • the contrast agent may be administered to the patient before and/or during the imaging of the body-part 155.
  • Suitable contrast agents for ultrasound imaging include suspensions of gas bubbles in a liquid carrier; typically, the gas bubbles have diameters on the order of 0.1-5 ⁇ m, so as to allow them to pass through the capillaries of the patient.
  • the gas bubbles are generally stabilized by entraining or encapsulating the gas or a precursor thereof into a variety of systems, including emulsifiers, oils, thickeners, sugars, proteins or polymers; stabilized gas bubbles are referred to as gas-filled microvesicles.
  • the microvesicles include gas bubbles dispersed in an aqueous medium and bound at the gas/liquid interface by a very thin envelope involving a surfactant, i.e., an amphiphilic material (also known as microbubbles).
  • the microvesicles include suspensions in which the gas bubbles are surrounded by a solid material envelope formed of lipids or of natural or synthetic polymers (also known as microballoons or microcapsules).
  • Another kind of contrast agent includes suspensions of porous microparticles of polymers or other solids, which carry gas bubbles entrapped within the pores of the microparticles. Examples of suitable aqueous suspensions of microvesicles, in particular microbubbles and microballoons, and of the preparation thereof are described in EP-A-0458745 , WO-A-91/15244 , EP-A-0554213 , WO-A-94/09829 and WO-A-95/16467 .
  • An example of a commercial ultrasound contrast agent comprising gas-filled microvesicles is SonoVue® by Bracco International BV.
  • the contrast agent is a target-specific contrast agent.
  • the target-specific contrast agent is substantially free to circulate within the patient; however, the target-specific contrast agent is also capable of being immobilized on a selected (biological) target, so as to remain in a substantially fixed position for the whole duration of an analysis process (or at least a large portion thereof).
  • the target-specific contrast agent is formulated in such a way as to bind selectively to the desired target by means of a specific interaction therewith.
  • this behavior can be achieved by incorporating a target-specific ligand capable of selectively binding (such as through biochemical affinity and/or electrostatic interaction) to a desired tissue or receptor.
  • target-specific ligands which may be inserted into a membrane of the microbubbles
  • tissue includes (within its meaning) individual cells as well as aggregates of cells, such as membranes or organs. The term refers to either normal (healthy) or abnormal (pathological) cells or aggregates of cells.
  • tissue examples include myocardial tissue (including myocardial cells and cardiomyocytes), membranous tissue (such as endothelium and epithelium), and connective tissue; examples of pathological tissue are infarcted heart tissue, blood clots, atherosclerotic plaques, inflammatory tissue and tumoral tissue.
  • the receptors include any molecular structure located on the tissue (for example, within the cells or on their surfaces), which is capable to selectively bind to a specific substance.
  • Exemplary receptors are glycoprotein GPIIbIIIa or fibrin (for example, located in blood clots or thrombi), P-Selectin (for example, located on activated endothelium of inflamed tissue) or KDR (for example, located in tumoral tissue).
  • target-specific contrast agents examples include Suitable target-specific contrast agents and of target-specific ligands.
  • G.M. Lanza and S.A. Wickline Targeted Ultrasonic Contrast Agents for Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 44(1), 2001, 13-31 ", and in WO-A-2006018433 .
  • the imaging probe 110 is typically placed in contact with the skin of the patient 160 in the area of the body-part 155.
  • the echo signal that is recorded in response to the ultrasound pulses over time provides a representation of the evolution of the body-part 155 during the analysis process (either while the patient 160 undergoes the administration of the contrast agent or later on).
  • the echo signal is then converted into a sequence of digital images (or frames) in standard Brightness mode (B-mode), which images represent the body-part 155 at corresponding successive acquisition instants (for example, with a sampling rate of 10-30 images per second).
  • B-mode standard Brightness mode
  • the pixel value consists of a gray-scale level (for example, coded on 8 bits) defining the brightness of the pixel; the pixel value increases from 0 (black) to 255 (white) as a function of the intensity of the corresponding echo signal.
  • a gray-scale level for example, coded on 8 bits
  • the echo signal and then the corresponding images generally result from the superimposition of different contributions, which are generated by the target-specific contrast agent that is still circulating, by the target-specific contrast agent that is immobilized on the target, and by surrounding tissue.
  • the ultrasound scanner 100 operates in a contrast-specific imaging mode so as to substantially remove, or at least reduce, the dominant (linear) contribution of tissue in the echo signal, with respect to the (non-linear) contribution of the (circulating and immobilized) target-specific contrast agent;
  • contrast-specific imaging modes include harmonic imaging (HI), pulse inversion (PI), power modulation (PM) and contrast pulse sequencing (CPS) techniques, as described, for example, in “ Rafter et al., Imaging technologies and techniques, Cardiology Clinics 22 (2004), pp. 181-197 " (the entire disclosure of which is herewith incorporated by reference).
  • the images are preferably acquired at a time point substantially delayed with respect to the administration of the target-specific contrast agent (for example, 10 minutes after its injection); in this way, the circulating contrast agent has disappeared (i.e., filtered out by the lungs and/or in the liver of the patient), so that it does not appear in the images any longer.
  • the images are pre-processed to substantially remove, or at least reduce, the contribution of the circulating contrast agent; for example, this result may be achieved by applying the modified Min_IP algorithm described in the above-mentioned International patent application WO 2007/054544 A1 .
  • the analysis process can start before or immediately after the administration of the target-specific contrast agent (without the need to wait for the complete disappearance of the circulating contrast agent).
  • the number n specifies a filtering length indicating the number of pixel values in the filtering set (i.e., the number of images) that are taken into account for calculating the desired minimum.
  • the filtering length n corresponds to a time window (given by the product of the filtering length n by the inverse of the imaging frame rate), which defines the degree of temporal low-pass filtering applied by the modified Min_IP algorithm.
  • the modified Min_IP algorithm is able to remove any peak of the pixel values over time having a width smaller than the extent of the filtering window. In this way, the target-specific contrast agent is considered immobilized only when it remains at the same location for a period of time longer than the filtering window.
  • the solution according to an embodiment of the present invention is based on the idea of detecting the contrast agent that leaves any location after having been substantially stationary in it (such as for a period of time longer than the filtering window of the modified Min_IP algorithm).
  • a possible application of the proposed solution consists of the detection of the target-specific contrast agent that detaches after being immobilized temporarily.
  • the target-specific contrast agent may attach to a receptor that is similar to the active target (such as including a component interacting which the target-specific contrast agent).
  • the target-specific contrast agent may be modified by the patient's immune system (such as when it is recognized as a non-self component of the blood, thus being opsonized by blood proteins and then phagocytosed by monocytes or macrophage); in this case, the modified target-specific contrast agent may loose its specificity or it may acquire a weaker specificity with other biological elements different from the active target. In any case, it is possible to remove the contribution of the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent from the result of the detection of the immobilized contrast agent (so as to leave the contribution of the permanently-immobilized contrast agent only). This allows avoiding any false positives caused by the incorrect identification and localization of the target (due to the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent).
  • the target-specific contrast agent may also be temporarily immobilized at locations having a reduced specific interaction with the target-specific contrast agent. For example, this may be due to a low concentration of the receptors for the target-specific contrast agent.
  • the detection of the detached contrast agent (and then of the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent) allows distinguishing pathologies at their early stage of development; moreover, the same information may be used to monitor the evolutions of pathologies already diagnosed (for example, to verify the response of the patient to a corresponding treatment).
  • the same solution also allows detecting the target-specific contrast agent that moves very slowly - as soon as it leaves any location where it was stationary for a period of time long enough to have it appear as immobilized (such as longer than the filtering window of the modified Min_IP algorithm).
  • the contribution of the apparently-immobilized contrast agent can be removed from the result of the detection of the immobilized contrast agent (so as to leave the contribution of the permanently-immobilized contrast agent only). This facilitates the identification and localization of the desired target, especially at the micro-vascular level.
  • the desired result is achieved by exploiting the persistence of the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent and the apparently-immobilized contrast agent, which is different compared to the persistence of the permanently-immobilized contrast agent.
  • the attachment of the permanently-immobilized contrast agent to the corresponding active target is highly persistent (the target-specific contrast agent being expressly designed for this purpose).
  • the persistence of the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent and the apparently-immobilized contrast agent is substantially lower.
  • the persistence of the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent depends on the strength of the non-specific interaction between the target-specific contrast agent and the relevant passive target (as described in " S.C.
  • the echo signal originating from the permanently-immobilized contrast agent is represented in the sequence of images by corresponding pixel values (for the same location) that exhibit a high stability (from one instant to the other) - i.e., the pixel values remain substantially constant over time; conversely, the echo signal originating from the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent and the apparently-immobilized contrast agent is represented by corresponding pixel values that exhibit a low stability - i.e., the pixel values substantially decrease over time.
  • the images are then processed so as to substantially suppress (or at least attenuate) the pixel values showing a high level of persistence (at the same time preserving the pixel values showing a low level of persistence).
  • the cumulative difference algorithm makes persistent any variation in consecutive pixel values (i.e., in the concentration of the contrast
  • Figure 2a shows a portion (consisting of 5 pixels P 1 -P 5 ) of exemplary images taken at consecutive instants (T 1 -T 8 ) - with the contribution of tissue and the contribution of the circulating contrast agent that have been completely suppressed.
  • each pixel P 1 -P 5 is represented as completely black in the absence of any (permanently, temporarily or apparently) immobilized contrast agent and completely white when the immobilized contrast agent is detected.
  • the pixel P 1 and the pixel P 3 are white to indicate the presence of an immobilized particle of contrast agent (such as a microbubble) at each corresponding location, while the other pixels (P 2 , P 4 , P 5 ) are black (since no immobilized contrast agent is present).
  • the immobilized particles of contrast agent remain at the pixels P 1 and P 3 .
  • the particle of contrast agent at the pixel P 1 suddenly detaches and then disappears (since it is filtered out by the application of the modified Min_IP algorithm that removes the contribution of the circulating contrast agent), as shown by the pixel P 1 that becomes black; on the contrary, the other immobilized particle of contrast agent remains at the pixel P 5 for the next instants (T 5 -T 8 ).
  • the detachment of the immobilized contrast agent can be detected in real-time (while the images are acquired). Particularly, the detachment is revealed as soon as the target-specific contrast agent leaves its target. Therefore, the results of the analysis may be available at an early time point after the administration of the target-specific contrast agent (without the need of waiting for the completion of its wash-out phase).
  • the above-described cumulative difference algorithm might suffer some problems when the analysis process starts before some particles of the target-specific contrast agent are immobilized; typically, this happens when the target-specific contrast agent is immobilized substantially late - such as 5-10 minutes after its administration (during late phase opacification).
  • the cumulative difference algorithm in the form provided above confuses the detached contrast agent with the contrast agent that immobilizes later on (even if it remains so); this is due to the fact that the cumulative difference algorithm makes persistent any variation of consecutive pixel values in both directions (i.e., when they either decrease or increase).
  • the modified cumulative difference algorithm now makes persistent the decrease in consecutive pixel values only (indicative of a reduction of the concentration of the contrast agent at the corresponding location over time).
  • a further problem may be caused by the immobilized contrast agent that transiently disappears in the images (even if it disappears for a very short time, down to a single image); typically, this is due to noise in the images or to their misalignment.
  • the application of the cumulative difference algorithm generates a corresponding image that is shown in Figure 4b .
  • the immobilized particle of contrast agents at the pixel P 1 (instants T 1 -T 4 ) and at the pixel P 3 (instants T 1 -T 2 ) disappear, while the detached particle of contrast agent at the pixel P 1 is detected and preserved (instants T 5 -T 8 ).
  • the above-mentioned problem can be solved by exploiting a comparison set of pixel values for calculating the variation (i.e., the decrease) of each pixel value (with respect now to the pixel value preceding this comparison set).
  • the comparison set consists of the pixel value itself and the corresponding pixel values in one or more preceding images.
  • the comparison length m corresponds to a time window (given by the product of the comparison length m by the inverse of the imaging frame rate), which defines the degree of temporal low-pass filtering applied by the modified cumulative difference algorithm. Indeed, the modified cumulative difference algorithm now disregards any short decrease of the pixel values over time having a width smaller than the extent of the comparison window. In this way, the immobilized contrast agent will be considered detached only when it disappears from the relevant location for a time longer than the comparison window.
  • the value of the comparison length m (and then of the comparison window) is selected according to the quality of the available images (for example, ranging from 2 to 4-6).
  • higher values of the comparison length m allow removing the effects of noise and/or misalignment in images of very poor quality; however, this delays the instant at which the detached contrast agent is detected (since the corresponding pixel becomes white only after the pixel remained black for a period of time longer than the comparison window).
  • each pixel can be represented by any gray-scale level (instead of just black or white).
  • the pixel values are a function of the concentration of the immobilized contrast agent at the corresponding location; the pixels may be quite dark in the presence of a low concentration of the immobilized contrast agent (such as when a few particles thereof are immobilized) while they can be very bright in the presence of a high concentration of the immobilized contrast agent.
  • the application of the (modified) cumulative difference algorithm to such an exemplary condition is represented schematically in Figures 5a-5b .
  • Figure 5a the application of the (modified) cumulative difference algorithm to such an exemplary condition is represented schematically in Figures 5a-5b .
  • Figure 5a illustrates that during instants T 1 -T 4 many particles of contrast agent are immobilized at the pixel P 1 (white).
  • Some of the immobilized particles of contrast agent at the pixel P 1 detach at the instant T 5 , as shown by the pixel P 1 that darkens slightly (becoming light gray); the detachment of the immobilized particles of contrast agent at the pixel P 1 continues at the next instants T 6 (dark gray) and T 7 (far dark gray), until the instant T 8 when all the immobilized particles of contrast agent have left the pixel P 1 (completely black).
  • T 6 dark gray
  • T 7 far dark gray
  • the cumulative difference algorithm also detects the gradual detachment of the target-specific contrast agent (when the pixel values become increasingly darker). At the same time, this provides additional information about the dynamic of the process (i.e., the rate of the detachment). Moreover, the pixel values so obtained allow quantifying the amount of the target-specific contrast agent that detaches (since the pixel values are proportional to the target-specific contrast agent concentration).
  • Figure 6a shows a sequence of images as original acquired (i.e., before applying the modified Min_IP algorithm to remove the contribution of the circulating contrast agent).
  • a slowly-moving particle of contrast agent reaches the pixel P 1 at the instants T 1 ; the slowly-moving particle of contrast agent remains at the same location at the next instant T 2 .
  • the slowly-moving particle of contrast agent then moves to the pixel P 2 (instants T 3 -T 4 ), to the pixel P 3 (instants T 5 -T 6 ), to the pixel P 4 (instants T 7 -T 8 ), and to the pixel P 5 (instants T 9 -T 10 ) - then exiting from the portion of the images shown in the figure (instant T 11 ).
  • the desired result may be achieved with a single processing step (without having to remove the contribution of the circulating contrast agent beforehand).
  • FIG. 7 The simulation of an exemplary application of the cumulative difference algorithm described above is illustrated in Figure 7 .
  • the figure shows the results that are obtained on a synthetic dataset simulating different instants of the passage of a volume of target-specific contrast agent (consisting of gas-filled microvesicles) over a target region (located in the center of the images).
  • the leftmost column illustrates the situation before the target-specific contrast agent has reached the target region (wash-in phase)
  • the middle column illustrates the situation when the target-specific contrast agent has just passed the target region (wash-out phase)
  • the rightmost column illustrates the situation at a late instant after the administration of the target-specific contrast agent (late phase) when all the circulating contrast agent has completely disappeared (e.g., due to lung filtration).
  • Row (A) represents the original sequence of (video) images.
  • the immobilized contrast agent (in the target region) can be differentiated from the circulating contrast agent (and then detected) only after all the circulating contrast agent has left the target region.
  • the target-specific contrast agent is administered through a bolus injection, this can take several minutes; for the target-specific contrast agent administered through an infusion, the wash-out phase starts only after the infusion has been stopped (typically, after 10 minutes).
  • the contribution of the circulating contrast agent is completely suppressed during the wash-in and wash-out phases; therefore, it is possible to detect the immobilized contrast agent as soon as it remains immobilized in the target region. However, the contrast agent that detaches from the target region disappears.
  • the contribution of the detached contrast agent is now detected; therefore, it is possible to locate the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent and/or the apparently-immobilized contrast agent as soon as it leaves the target region.
  • Figures 8a-8d show an example of in-vivo application of the above described algorithms.
  • a region of inflamed tissue was induced by a 30 ml injection of TNF- ⁇ in the hind limb of a recombinant OF1 mouse, 6-10 weeks of age
  • TNF- ⁇ is a physiological proinflammatory cytokines secreted by macrophages and other cell-types and induces gene expression of P-Selectin
  • Gas-filled microvesicles were functionalized with a rat anti mouse P-Selectin antibody (CD62P, RB40.34, BD Pharmingen).
  • target-specific contrast agent i.e. the functionalized gas-filled microvesicles
  • control contrast agent i.e. the same gas-filled microvesicles, without the antibody
  • the inflammation region was scanned for a period of 10 minutes, including the wash-in and wash-out phases of the contrast agent.
  • the images so obtained were recorded on tape using a digital video recorder and processed off-line in a region of interest, which included part of the hind limb containing the inflamed tissue; the results obtained by applying the above-described algorithms were superimposed on the original images.
  • the images on the left-hand side relate to the instant immediately after the injection of the contrast agent.
  • the region of interest in the images is completely black, since the contrast agent has not reached yet the corresponding region of the body-part.
  • the images in the middle depict the situation 2 minutes after the injection of the contrast agent (at the beginning of the wash-out phase).
  • It is clear from the images on the right-hand side of Figure 8c that most of the particles of the control contrast agent are detached 6 minutes after injection, indicating the high non-specificity of the control contrast agent.
  • only a few particles of the target-specific contrast agent are detached (right-hand side of Figure 8d ), showing its high specificity.
  • the locations of the detached particles are nicely spatially depicted, possibly indicating regions of lower binding strength (due to a lower receptor density), or regions of non-specific binding (due to the absence of the specific receptors).
  • the information is typically stored on the hard disk and loaded (at least partially) into the working memory when the programs are running, together with an operating system and other application programs (not shown in the figure).
  • the programs are initially installed onto the hard disk, for example, from CD-ROM.
  • a driver 903 controls the imaging probe (not shown in the figure); for example, the imaging probe driver 903 includes a transmit beam former and pulsers for generating the ultrasound pulses to be applied to the body-part under analysis.
  • the corresponding (analog RF) echo signal that is received from said body-part is supplied to a receive processor 906.
  • the receive processor 906 pre-amplifies the analog RF echo signal and applies a preliminary time-gain compensation (TGC); the analog RF echo signal is then converted into digital values by an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), and combined into a focused beam signal through a receive beam former.
  • TGC time-gain compensation
  • ADC Analog-to-Digital Converter
  • the digital signal so obtained is preferably processed through further digital algorithms and other linear or non-linear signal conditioners (such as a post-beamforming TGC).
  • the receive processor 906 applies a contrast-specific algorithm to suppress the contribution of tissue (such as based on the above-mentioned HI, PI, PM or CPS techniques).
  • the digital signal is then demodulated, log-compressed, and scan-converted into a video format. This process results in the recording of a sequence of (video) input images Ii (each one including MxN pixel values). More specifically, each pixel value of the input images Ii is determined by the intensity of the acoustical response at the location in the body-part corresponding to said pixel.
  • the receive processor 906 includes a motion compensation module, carrying out a method for reducing the misalignment of the input images Ii with respect to a reference image (for example, due to motion resulting from patient breathing or from involuntary movement of the imaging probe); an example of motion compensation method that is well suited for this purpose is described in WO-A-2006/015971 , the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
  • the input images Ii are supplied to a pre-processor 907.
  • the pre-processor 907 removes the contribution of the circulating contrast agent in the input images Ii.
  • the pre-processor 907 applies the method described in the above-mentioned International patent application WO 2007/054544 A1 .
  • each input image Ii is converted into a corresponding pre-processed image Ip ;
  • the pre-processed image Ip provides a representation of the (permanently-, temporarily- and apparently-) immobilized contrast agent in a region of interest, which information is preferably overlaid on the original input images Ii.
  • a drawing module 909 is used to predefine a region-of-interest for the analysis of the pre-processed images Ip (typically the same as the one used by the pre-processor 907).
  • the operation generates a limitation mask Ml, which consists of a matrix of binary values with the same size as the pre-processed images Ip (i.e., MxN ); all binary values inside the region of interest are assigned the logic value 1, whereas the binary values outside the region of interest are assigned the logic value 0.
  • a linearizer 912 is optionally used to linearize the pre-processed images Ip, so as to make each pixel value thereof directly proportional to the corresponding local concentration of the immobilized contrast agent; for example, this result can be achieved by applying an inverse log-compression and then squaring the value so obtained (for example, as described in WO-A-2004/11 0279 ).
  • a selector 915 is used to select and latch one of the (video or linearized) pre-processed images Ip to be used as a background image (denoted with Ib ); for example, the background image Ib is selected among the pre-processed images Ip taken before the contrast agent has reached the body-part under analysis.
  • a multiplier operator 921 receives the background image Ib (from the selector 915) and the limitation mask Ml (from the drawing module 909). The operator 921 multiplies the background image Ib by the limitation mask Ml pixel-by-pixel, so as to generate a corresponding limited background image LIb (this operation needs to be done only once, but it can be repeated any time during the analysis process).
  • Another multiplier operator 924 receives the pre-processed images Ip in succession (from the linearizer 912) and the limitation mask Ml (from the drawing module 909). The operator 924 multiplies each pre-processed image Ip by the limitation mask Ml pixel-by-pixel, so as to generate a corresponding sequence of limited pre-processed images LIp.
  • the limited background image LIb and the limited pre-processed images LIp only include the pixel values of the background image Ib and of the pre-processed images Ip, respectively, that are inside the region of interest (defined by the limitation mask Ml ), while the other pixel values are reset to 0.
  • a difference operator 927 receives the limited background image LIb (from the multiplier 921) and the limited pre-processed images LIp (from the multiplier 924).
  • the operator 927 subtracts the limited background image LIb from each limited pre-processed images LIp pixel-by-pixel, so as to remove any residual clutter (for example, due the contribution of tissue that has not been completely removed by the contrast-specific algorithm applied by the receive processor 906).
  • the operation generates a corresponding sequence of corrected images Ic, which is provided to a spatial sub-sampler 933.
  • the module 933 sub-samples the corrected images Ic according to a factor determined by the spatial resolution of the corrected images Ic along each dimension (for example, 2 to 6 pixels).
  • the spatial sub-sampling comprises low-pass filtering followed by sub-sampling according to a sub-sampling factor.
  • the low-pass filtering has a cutoff frequency, which can be chosen as the highest frequency component containing significant energy in a selected one of the corrected images Ic (for example, determined by Fourier analysis).
  • the sub-sampling is performed according to a factor that can be determined, for example, as a value resulting in a spatial sub-sampling frequency equal to twice the cutoff frequency.
  • each corrected image Ic is transformed into a corresponding (spatially) sub-sampled image Is ; each value of the sub-sampled image Is thus represents a cell corresponding to a group of adjacent pixels in the correct image Ic (which cell has a size defined according to the above-mentioned spatial resolution).
  • the sub-sampled images Is so obtained are stored in succession into a stack 936, which acts as a buffer memory for further processing according to the above-described cumulative difference algorithm.
  • the stack 936 provides storage for q sub-sampled images Is.
  • the required set of m + 1 sub-sampled images SIs among the ones available in the stack 936 (for the reference set of m sub-sampled image Is and the preceding sub-sampled image Is ) is thus created and made available for further processing.
  • the set of sub-sampled images SIs then consists of the last m + 1 sub-sampled images Is stored in the stack 936 (so that every sub-sampled image Is is considered).
  • q sub-sampled images Is ( q > m + 1 ) must be stored in the stack 936, in order to make m + 1 sub-sampled images Is available for the application of the cumulative difference algorithm.
  • This temporal sub-sampling may be advantageously exploited when the ultrasound scanner works at ultra-high frame rates (for example, 100-500 images per second), in which case an analysis of every available sub-sampled image Is does not provide any useful benefit.
  • the (original) pre-processed images Ip provided by the pre-processor 907 are latched into another stack 937, which consists of a first-in-first-out (FIFO) shift register, with a size equal to q (so as to store the last q pre-processed images Ip ).
  • FIFO first-in-first-out
  • a filter 939 receives the set of ( m +1) sub-sampled images SIs from the stack 936.
  • the filter 939 calculates a filtered image Ifs by applying the above-described cumulative difference algorithm on this set of sub-sampled images SIs.
  • the filtered image Ifs so obtained is then passed to a mask generator 942, which also receives a predefined threshold value TH for the cell values (for example, ranging from 0 to 5% of their maximum allowable value).
  • the mask generator 942 creates a corresponding overlay mask Mo ; the overlay mask Mo is obtained from the filtered image Ifs by assigning (to each cell) the logic value 1 if its value is strictly higher than the threshold value TH or the logic value 0 otherwise.
  • the overlay mask Mo is subsequently provided to a spatial-interpolator 945.
  • the spatial-interpolator 945 restores the full-size of the overlay mask Mo corresponding to the size of the input images Ii (i.e., MxN binary values); for this purpose, the value of each cell in the overlay mask Mo is replicated for the corresponding group of pixels.
  • the operation generates a corresponding interpolated mask RMo.
  • the filtered image Ifs is also provided to a post-processor 948.
  • the post-processor 948 optionally converts the cell values of the filtered image Ifs into corresponding discrete values (for example, consisting of 64 or 128 levels that are uniformly distributed between the lowest value and the highest value of all the cells), by possibly applying a gain factor.
  • the post-processor 948 may also apply a non-linear processing (such as a log-compression) so as to produce images with well-balanced contrast.
  • the post-processor 948 also accesses a color lookup table 951.
  • the color lookup table 951 associates all the possible levels with the representation of corresponding colors (that are preferably brighter as the levels increase); for example, each color is defined by an index for accessing a location within a palette containing its actual specification. In this way, each cell in the filtered image Ifs is assigned the corresponding color representation.
  • the filtered image Ifs (either post-processed or as originally built) is provided to another spatial-interpolator 954.
  • the spatial-interpolator 954 restores the full-size of the filtered image Ifs corresponding to the size of the input images Ii (i.e., MxN pixel values) by means of interpolation techniques (such as based on the nearest neighbor, bilinear, or bicubic technique). For this purpose, the value of each cell in the filtered image Ifs is replicated for the corresponding group of pixels (nearest neighbor interpolation method) and optionally filtered spatially (such as using a low-pass 2D or 3D spatial filter). The operation generates a corresponding interpolated image RI.
  • a multiplier operator 957 receives the interpolated image RI (from the spatial interpolator 954) and the interpolated mask RMo (from the spatial interpolator 945).
  • the operator 957 multiplies the interpolated image RI with the interpolated mask RMo pixel-by-pixel, so as to obtain a masked image MI; as a result, the masked image MI only includes the pixel values of the corresponding interpolated image RI that are higher than the threshold value TH (while the other pixel values are reset to 0).
  • the masked image MI is then latched into a single-image buffer 958 (replacing its previous content). In this way, the masked image MI in the buffer 958 is updated whenever the filter 939 outputs a new filtered image Ifs, while it remains unchanged otherwise (so as to maintain the masked image MI that was obtained from the filtered image Ifs last calculated).
  • the interpolated mask RMo is also supplied from the spatial interpolator 945 to an inverter 960, which generates a corresponding inverted interpolated mask RMo (by exchanging the logic values 0 and 1).
  • the interpolated mask RMo is likewise latched into another single-image buffer 961 (replacing its previous content), so as to be always synchronized with the masked image MI in the buffer 958.
  • the inverted interpolated mask RMo latched in the buffer 961 is then passed to a multiplier operator 963.
  • the multiplier operator 963 also receives a delayed image Id from the stack 937.
  • the masked delayed image MId only includes the pixel values of the delayed image Id that are not included in the corresponding masked image MI (while the other pixel values are reset to 0).
  • An adder operator 969 receives the masked delayed image MId (from the multiplier 963) and the masked image MI (latched in the buffer 958). The operator 969 adds the masked image MI and the masked delayed image MId pixel-by-pixel (correctly synchronized) so as to obtain an overlay image Io. In this way, each pixel value of the delayed image Id is overridden by the corresponding pixel value of the masked image MI if and only if the latter has a significant value (i.e., higher than the threshold value TH ).
  • the overlay image Io is passed to a monitor driver 972, which controls its visualization. At the same time, the overlay image Io may also be added to a repository 975.
  • the same operations described above are reiterated for each new input image Ii that is recorded. Particularly, the corresponding pre-processed image Ip is pushed into the stack 937; this causes the shifting of the preceding pre-processed images Ip in the stack 937, and the output of the oldest one.
  • the corresponding sub-sampled image Is is added to the stack 936.
  • each overlay image Io is available with a delay (with respect to the acquisition time of the corresponding input image Ii ), which is defined by the time required to apply the modified Min_IP algorithm (in the pre-processor 907) plus the time required to apply the cumulative difference algorithm (i.e., to cross the whole stack 937).
  • the sequence of overlay images Io so obtained is also available in the repository 975 for further analysis.
  • the detached contrast agent is easily recognized (by its color coding) with respect to the permanently-immobilized contrast agent and the possible background (in the original gray-scale pixel levels) - with the degree of overlay that can be updated according to contingent requirements (by means of the threshold value TH ), so as to tune the impact of the operation on the pre-processed images Ip.
  • the reading of the overlay images Io is further facilitated when each different color (representing the concentration of the immobilized contrast agent that has detached) bears a quantitative meaning of its own; for example, this value can be read out from a color bar, which is displayed on the monitor close to the sequence of overlay images Io.
  • the overlay images Io provide an enhanced visual perception of the detached contrast agent, which is contextualized on the actual representation of the body-part under analysis.
  • the proposed solution facilitates the spatial delineation and the quantification of the permanently-immobilized contrast agent, the temporarily-immobilized contrast agent, and/or the apparently-immobilized contrast agent, thereby allowing the correct detection of the pathologies of interest. Therefore, the accuracy of any analysis of the obtained results is strongly increased.
  • the proposed solution lends itself to be implemented with an equivalent method (by using similar steps, removing some steps being non-essential, or adding further optional steps); moreover, the steps may be performed in a different order, concurrently or in an interleaved way (at least in part).
  • the pixel values outside the selected region of interest may be reset to 0 (so that the portion of the overlay image outside the region of interest is black); however, the application of the proposed solution to the whole content of the images is contemplated (without selecting any region of interest).
  • the solution of the invention lends itself to be put into practice with equivalent target-specific contrast agents for whatever (biological) target; for example, the contrast agent can be specific for enhancing Magnetic Resonance imaging or X-ray Computed Tomography imaging.
  • the application of the same solution to a non target-specific contrast agent - for example, for detecting the slowly-moving contrast agent only - or even to a mixture of target-specific contrast agent and non target-specific contrast agent is not excluded.
  • the solution according to an embodiment of the present invention is preferably put into practice by starting from images wherein the contribution of the circulating contrast agent has already been removed (or at least substantially reduced); this result may be achieved by applying the modified Min-IP algorithm. However, it is also possible to wait until the circulating contrast agent has disappeared, or to apply any other algorithm providing equivalent outcomes. Alternatively, the same result may also be achieved by acting directly on the original images (i.e., removing the circulating contrast agent and the temporarily/apparently-immobilized contrast agent at the same time).
  • the solution according to the present invention also lends itself to be implemented with whatever algorithm, which is capable of detecting the contrast agent leaving any location after being substantially immobilized thereon (for a period of time longer that a predefined duration).
  • each filtered value may be calculated by accumulating the preceding variation values in a different way; for example, it is possible to avoid processing the pixels once they have become white, or to calculate the filtered values directly according to the history of the corresponding pixel values.
  • the proposed cumulative difference algorithm may be implemented by setting the comparison value to either the current pixel value or a comparison value based on a comparison set of pixel values at multiple instants; in the latter case, the set may have any other size, even defined dynamically according to an estimated quality of the available images.
  • the temporal sub-sampling of the input images may be performed according to any other criteria (or it may be omitted altogether).
  • any other formula may be used to calculate the variation value to be accumulated (so as to indicate the variation of the comparison value with respect to the reference value, consisting of either the preceding pixel value or a value based on a reference set of multiple preceding pixel values).
  • the filtered images may be generated by any other algorithm capable of detecting the different persistence of the contrast agent at each location (as defined by the time pattern of the corresponding pixel values).
  • any other technique for acquiring the input images is within the scope of the present invention (for example, using Doppler-based algorithms).
  • the original images used as background in the overlay may also be based on non contrast-specific images (such as fundamental B-mode images being obtained from the echo signals of the imaging probe driver).
  • the proposed method would still be applied in a preferred way on images provided by a contrast-specific imaging modality for generating the filtered images.
  • the images are spatially sub-sampled with a different procedure (for example, according to a predefined sub-sampling factor), or if the spatial sub-sampling is performed beforehand or afterward; in any case, the application of the proposed solution at the pixel level (instead of at the level of groups of pixels defined by the above-mentioned spatial sub-sampling) is not excluded.
  • the images may be linearized in a different way; for example, the linearized images might be already available for other purposes (such as when parametric analysis techniques are implemented); in this case, it is possible to exploit the available information without any additional linearization operation. Again, nothing prevents the application of the proposed solution to the log-compressed images directly.
  • the pixel values of the (original) pre-processed images within the region of interest may be set to zero in order to display the filtered images against a black background, thus improving contrast.
  • the obtained information may be used in any other way.
  • the filtered images it is possible to display the filtered images alone, to overlay the filtered images on the input images (without the pre-processing to remove the contribution of the circulation contrast agent), to overlay the filtered images on the pre-processed images within the region of interest and on the input images outside the region of interest, and in any other combination thereof; moreover, it is possible to subtract the filtered images from the pre-processed images to remove the contribution of the temporarily/apparently-immobilized contrast agent.
  • any other different visual coding may be used to differentiate the detached contrast agent from the permanently-immobilized contrast agent in the overlay images; for example, it is possible to use shades of a first color (such as yellow) for the detached contrast agent, and shades of a second color (such as red) for the permanently-immobilized contrast agent (over a background in gray scale).
  • a first color such as yellow
  • a second color such as red
  • the program (which may be used to implement each embodiment of the invention) is structured in a different way, or if additional modules or functions are provided; likewise, the memory structures may be of other types, or may be replaced with equivalent entities (not necessarily consisting of physical storage media).
  • the program may take any form suitable to be used by any data processing system or in connection therewith (for example, within a virtual machine); particularly, the program may be in the form of external or resident software, firmware, or microcode (either in object code or in source code - for example, to be compiled or interpreted).
  • the program can be any element suitable to contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transfer the program.
  • the medium may be of the electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor type; examples of such medium are fixed disks (where the program can be pre-loaded), removable disks, tapes, cards, wires, fibers, wireless connections, networks, broadcast waves, and the like.
  • the solution according to the present invention lends itself to be implemented with a hardware structure (for example, integrated in a chip of semiconductor material), or with a combination of software and hardware.
  • the ultrasound scanner has a different structure or includes other units (such as with an imaging probe of the linear-, convex-, phased-, or matrix- array type).
  • the proposed solution is applied in a medical imaging system that consists of an ultrasound scanner and a distinct computer (or any equivalent data processing system); in this case, the measured data is transferred from the ultrasound scanner to the computer for its processing (for example, through a removable disk, a memory key, or a network connection).
  • the application to any other medical imaging system such as based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), is within the scope of the invention.
  • MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • CT X-ray Computed Tomography

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Claims (17)

  1. System (900) zur Durchführung einer Bildgebung eines Körperteils, das mit einem Kontrastmittel perfundiert wird, wobei das System beinhaltet:
    Einrichtungen (903-906) zur Bereitstellung einer Abfolge von Eingangsbildern, die eine über die Zeit erfolgende digitale Darstellung des Körperteils bieten, wobei jedes Eingangsbild eine Mehrzahl von Eingangswerten beinhaltet, die jeweils eine Antwort auf ein Abfragesignal eines entsprechenden Ortes des Körperteils angeben, der möglicherweise das Kontrastmittel enthält,
    Einrichtungen (907-969) für ein Generieren mindestens eines gefilterten Bildes aus einer Abfolge einer Mehrzahl von aus den Eingangsbildern ausgewählten Bildern, wobei jedes gefilterte Bild einen gefilterten Wert für einen jeweiligen Ort einer Mehrzahl von aus den Orten ausgewählten Orten beinhaltet, wobei die Einrichtungen (912-969) für ein Generieren beinhalten:
    erste Einrichtungen (907) für ein Reduzieren eines Beitrags des Kontrastmittels, das an einem jeweiligen gewählten Ort in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern während eines Zeitraums gleich lang oder kürzer als ein nicht Null betragender erster Schwellenwert im Wesentlichen stationär ist, und zwar durch Entfernen von Intensitätsspitzen der Eingangswerte eines jeweiligen gewählten Ortes in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern, deren Dauer gleich lang oder kürzer als der erste Schwellenwert ist, und
    zweite Einrichtungen (912-969) für ein Reduzieren eines Beitrags des Kontrastmittels, das an einem jeweiligen gewählten Ort in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern während eines Zeitraums gleich lang oder länger als ein zweiter Schwellenwert, der größer als der erste Schwellenwert ist, im Wesentlichen stationär ist, und zwar durch Kumulieren einer Variation der Eingangswerte eines jeweiligen gewählten Ortes in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern,
    wodurch man erreicht, dass jeder gefilterte Wert angibt, dass das Kontrastmittel den entsprechenden gewählten Ort verlässt, nachdem es an dem entsprechenden gewählten Ort während eines Zeitraums, der zwischen dem ersten Schwellenwert und dem zweiten Schwellenwert liegt, im Wesentlichen stationär war.
  2. System (900) nach Anspruch 1, wobei das Kontrastmittel ein targetspezifisches Kontrastmittel ist, das fähig ist, im Patienten zu zirkulieren und an einem biologischen Target im Wesentlichen immobilisiert zu sein, wobei jeder gefilterte Wert angibt, dass sich das Kontrastmittel von dem gewählten Ort löst, nachdem es an dem gewählten Ort während eines zwischen dem ersten Schwellenwert und dem zweiten Schwellenwert liegenden Zeitraums vorübergehend immobilisiert war und/oder sich langsam bewegt, um an dem gewählten Ort während eines zwischen dem ersten Schwellenwert und dem zweiten Schwellenwert liegenden Zeitraums zu verbleiben.
  3. System (900) nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die ersten Einrichtungen (907) für ein Reduzieren beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (907) für ein Vorverarbeiten der Eingangsbilder, um einen Beitrag eines Kontrastmittels, das an einem jeweiligen Ort während eines Zeitraums, der gleich lang oder kürzer als der erste Schwellenwert ist, im Wesentlichen stationär ist, in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern zu reduzieren, und wobei die zweiten Einrichtungen (909-969) für ein Reduzieren beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (912-958) für ein Berechnen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild nach dem Vorverarbeiten der Eingangsbilder durch Kumulieren eines Variationswertes, der eine Variation eines Vergleichswertes bezüglich eines Referenzwerts angibt, wobei der Vergleichswert auf einem Vergleichssatz von Eingangswerten für den gewählten Ort in einem Vergleichssatz der gewählten Eingangsbilder basiert, die ein spezifisches gewähltes Eingangsbild entsprechend dem gefilterten Bild beinhalten, und wobei der Referenzwert gleich groß wie der Eingangswert für den gewählten Ort in einem der gewählten Eingangsbilder ist, die dem Vergleichssatz von gewählten Eingangsbilder in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbilder vorangehen.
  4. System (900) nach Anspruch 3, wobei die Einrichtungen (907) für eine Vorverarbeitung beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (907) für ein Ersetzen des Eingangswertes eines jeweiligen gewählten Ortes in einem jeweiligen Eingangsbild mit einem Wert, der für die niedrigste Antwort des gewählten Ortes in einem Filterungssatz der Eingangsbilder in einer Zahl entsprechend dem ersten Schwellenwert repräsentativ ist, wobei der Filterungssatz ein spezifisches Bild von den Eingangsbildern entsprechend dem gefilterten Bild und eines oder mehrere der Eingangsbilder beinhaltet, die dem spezifischen Eingangsbild in der Abfolge von Eingangsbildern vorausgehen.
  5. System nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Generieren (912-969) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (912-958) für ein Berechnen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild durch Kumulieren eines Variationswertes, der eine Variation eines Vergleichswertes bezüglich eines Referenzwerts angibt, wobei der Vergleichswert auf einem Vergleichssatz von Eingangswerten für den gewählten Ort in einem Vergleichssatz der gewählten Eingangsbilder basiert, die ein spezifisches gewähltes Eingangsbild entsprechend dem gefilterten Bild beinhalten, und wobei der Referenzwert die niedrigste Antwort des gewählten Ortes in einem Referenzsatz der gewählten Eingangsbilder angibt, der dem Vergleichssatz von gewählten Eingangsbildern in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern vorausgeht.
  6. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 3 bis 5, wobei das mindestens eine gefilterte Bild aus einer Abfolge von gefilterten Bildern besteht, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Generieren (912-969) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (939) für ein Berechnen des gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild durch Kumulieren des Variationswertes mit dem gefilterten Wert in einem der gefilterten Bilder, die dem gefilterten Bild in der Abfolge von gefilterten Bildern vorausgehen.
  7. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 3 bis 6, weiter beinhaltend:
    Einrichtungen (972) für ein Anzeigen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Bildes im Wesentlichen in Echtzeit mit einem Akquirierungszeitpunkt des spezifischen gewählten Eingangsbildes.
  8. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 3 bis 7, wobei der Vergleichssatz von gewählten Eingangsbildern aus dem spezifischen gewählten Eingangsbild besteht, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Berechnen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild (912-958) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (939) für ein Festlegen des Vergleichswertes auf den Eingangswert für den gewählten Ort in dem spezifischen gewählten Eingangsbild.
  9. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 3 bis 7, wobei der Vergleichssatz von gewählten Eingangsbildern aus dem spezifischen gewählten Eingangsbild und mindestens einem der gewählten Eingangsbilder besteht, die dem spezifischen gewählten Eingangsbild in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern vorausgehen.
  10. System (900) nach Anspruch 9, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Berechnen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild (912-958) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (936) für ein temporäres Subsampling des Vergleichssatzes von gewählten Eingangsbildern.
  11. System (900) nach Anspruch 9 oder 10, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Berechnen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild (912-958) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (939) für ein Festlegen des Vergleichswertes auf einen der Eingangswerte des Vergleichssatzes von gewählten Eingangswerten, der die höchste Antwort des gewählten Ortes angibt.
  12. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 3 bis 11, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Berechnen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild (912-958) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (939) für ein Festlegen des Variationswertes auf einen Absolutwert einer Differenz zwischen dem Vergleichswert und dem Referenzwert.
  13. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 3 bis 11, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Berechnen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in einem jeweiligen gefilterten Bild (912-958) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (939) für ein Festlegen des Variationswertes auf:
    einen Delta-Wert, der eine Abnahme der Antwort des gewählten Ortes von dem Referenzwert auf den Vergleichswert angibt, wenn die Antwort des gewählten Ortes von dem Referenzwert auf den Vergleichswert abnimmt, oder
    andernfalls einen Nullwert.
  14. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 13, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Generieren (912-969) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (915) für ein Auswählen eines Hintergrundbildes in der Abfolge von Eingangsbildern, und
    Einrichtungen (921-927) für ein Subtrahieren des Hintergrundbildes von den gewählten Eingangsbildern.
  15. System (900) nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 14, wobei die Einrichtungen für ein Generieren (912-969) beinhalten:
    Einrichtungen (942-945; 957) für ein Reduzieren eines jeweiligen gefilterten Bildes durch Zurücksetzen eines jeweiligen gefilterten Wertes in dem gefilterten Bild, der einen vordefinierten Schwellenwert nicht erreicht, und
    Einrichtungen (937; 960-969) für ein Generieren eines Überlagerungsbildes, dadurch dass ein jeweiliges Eingangsbild mit einem entsprechenden Bild der reduzierten gefilterten Bilder überlagert wird.
  16. Verfahren (900) zur Durchführung einer Bildgebung eines Körperteils, das mit einem Kontrastmittel perfundiert wird, wobei das Verfahren beinhaltet:
    Bereitstellen (903-906) einer Abfolge von Eingangsbildern, die eine über die Zeit erfolgende digitale Darstellung des Körperteils bieten, wobei jedes Eingangsbild eine Mehrzahl von Eingangswerten beinhaltet, die jeweils eine Antwort auf ein Abfragesignal eines entsprechenden Ortes des Körperteils angeben, der möglicherweise das Kontrastmittel enthält,
    Generieren (907-969) mindestens eines gefilterten Bildes aus einer Abfolge einer Mehrzahl von aus den Eingangsbildern ausgewählten Bildern, wobei jedes gefilterte Bild einen gefilterten Wert für einen jeweiligen Ort einer Mehrzahl von aus den Orten ausgewählten Orten beinhaltet, wobei das Generieren (912-969) beinhaltet:
    Reduzieren (907) eines Beitrags des Kontrastmittels, das an einem jeweiligen gewählten Ort in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern während eines Zeitraums gleich lang oder kürzer als ein nicht Null betragender erster Schwellenwert im Wesentlichen stationär ist, und zwar durch Entfernen von Intensitätsspitzen der Eingangswerte eines jeweiligen gewählten Ortes in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern, deren Dauer gleich lang oder kürzer als der erste Schwellenwert ist, und
    Reduzieren (912-969) eines Beitrags des Kontrastmittels, das an einem jeweiligen gewählten Ort in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern während eines Zeitraums gleich lang oder länger als ein zweiter Schwellenwert, der größer als der erste Schwellenwert ist, im Wesentlichen stationär ist, und zwar durch Kumulieren einer Variation der Eingangswerte eines jeweiligen gewählten Ortes in der Abfolge von gewählten Eingangsbildern,
    wodurch man erreicht, dass jeder gefilterte Wert angibt, dass das Kontrastmittel den entsprechenden gewählten Ort verlässt, nachdem es an dem entsprechenden gewählten Ort während eines Zeitraums, der zwischen dem ersten Schwellenwert und dem zweiten Schwellenwert liegt, im Wesentlichen stationär war.
  17. Computerprogramm (900) für ein Durchführen des Verfahrens nach Anspruch 16, wenn das Computerprogramm auf einem Datenverarbeitungssystem (100) ausgeführt wird.
EP07866306.9A 2006-12-21 2007-12-21 Detektion der ablösung eines immobilisierten kontrastmittels bei medizinischen bildgebungsanwendungen Active EP2099364B8 (de)

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CA2670932A1 (en) 2008-06-26
US8512249B2 (en) 2013-08-20
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WO2008074889A1 (en) 2008-06-26
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